tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post8784088663803696944..comments2024-03-28T16:36:12.581-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: Your Comments about Teaching Art FundamentalsJames Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-71218026485671296352018-12-21T23:24:34.299-05:002018-12-21T23:24:34.299-05:00The one life lesson from The Simpsons that I thoug...The one life lesson from The Simpsons that I thought was any good:<br /><br />"First you must fill your head with knowledge; then you can hit rocks with it."Warren JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11743987856127631574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-8722844538672721902018-12-18T02:41:07.112-05:002018-12-18T02:41:07.112-05:00At my Architecture school we were combined with th...At my Architecture school we were combined with the Art Department...and it was an unhappy situation. We had four tenured Art professors ...but <i>no declared art majors</i> in the department. All the declared majors in the Dept. were architecture students, but only one tenured Architecture professor, all the rest were adjunct. Apparently the Art Dept's role was to provide easy liberal arts elective courses for the STEM and Business undergrads, and free art classes for the other professors' bored wives; so this was tolerated by the Univ. Admin.<br /><br />Even though as an Architect I draw and sketch nearly-daily, the level of instruction was so-horrid I was put-off fine-art drawing and painting for decades, even though I had been previously-taught to oil paint by my mother, who was an artist. Life Drawing Class was a fiasco, taught by a deconstructivist sculptor who couldn't draw ...nor teach. Only recently I finally understood gesture from one of Proko's youtubes. She also taught the other drawing courses, some of the painting classes and our architectural rendering course. **horrors** Her idea of Color Theory was handing-out those cheap cardboard color wheels...<br /><br />This was 40-years ago, and I fear it's a lot worse at many schools and colleges now, even if they are not dedicated Art Schools.Ted B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11341665121065592053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-62640803329127518562018-12-16T04:05:59.220-05:002018-12-16T04:05:59.220-05:00Having "traditional" skills didn't h...Having "traditional" skills didn't hold Picasso back or destroy his creativity. Creative skills and techniques cross pollinate.Marion Boddy-Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16492298393921353238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-32818393035867940892018-12-15T20:24:48.328-05:002018-12-15T20:24:48.328-05:00There are probably a lot of well trained and highl...There are probably a lot of well trained and highly skilled artists who struggle because they have nothing to say. But there are probably many more people who struggle to communicate their thoughts and ideas because they don’t have the “vocabulary” to express themselves. <br /><br />I took a sculpture class in college. The instructor put me in a small room with a bench, a box of rocks, 3 steel chisels and a mallet and no instruction. I had no idea how to carve stone with those tools, and neither did the instructor. It was incredibly frustrating to have an idea but lack the knowledge and skill to express it. I finished the class with a box of much smaller rocks but little more knowledge of how to carve stone and worse, an unrealized idea.<br /><br />Drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and even lettering are all ways of thinking and seeing. And practicing them is also a way to develop the discipline necessary to bring ideas into concrete form. <br /><br />I think art boils down to having something interesting to say and beautiful way to say it. Hard to do without intelligence and chops.Al Skaarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858537746937879411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-80310403365850391622018-12-15T02:47:22.581-05:002018-12-15T02:47:22.581-05:00I think also another contributing factor to the de...I think also another contributing factor to the debate is that art is sort of a luxury. If you were teaching heart surgery you would want a proper way of teaching and there would be a clear argument for teaching the techniques that saved the most lives. Arts subjectivity also relates to the methods taught to produce it. But for a school I would think traditional drawing would be an option. <br />When it comes to images that connect with people, I don't see too many advertisers dabbling in abstract expressionism.Mr. Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00981316447717435819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-11497996403763345052018-12-15T00:45:55.712-05:002018-12-15T00:45:55.712-05:00I've been asked to do a two week workshop of m...I've been asked to do a two week workshop of my choosing at the local high school and I'm considering a short beginning drawing course. I've been thinking about how to approach it and am considering basing it on Nicolaides The Natural Way to Draw. Obviously in such a short time I can only scratch the surface, but I'm thinking contour drawing (blind and otherwise)with its emphasis on observation over artistic results (at least at first)could pique their interest and leave them (hopefully) wanting more.scottThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10033264210231543212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-72728890126027450652018-12-14T22:00:55.916-05:002018-12-14T22:00:55.916-05:00I am fortunate at 70 to participate as an audit st...I am fortunate at 70 to participate as an audit student in drawing and painting classes at our local community college. For a couple of semesters I've been the only student over the age of 21. Many students come in at base level with little or no serious art experience or training. By the end of semester it' plain to see that some will never look at their world in the same way again. Especially with today's young people it's too easy to fall into the trap of the virtual electronic world at the cost of real seeing and experiencing. Drawing is one of civilization's oldest and most basic of communication skills and I hope the current trend toward marginalization of the arts in state sponsored education in favor of allowing machines to do the work will fade.Frankohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05857607030569943045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-35402567751322184742018-12-14T21:34:44.700-05:002018-12-14T21:34:44.700-05:00And this is why art schools such as the Watts Atel...And this is why art schools such as the Watts Atelier or the Aristides Atelier are doing such great work. They teach the fundamentals and lead the students to a path of becoming a great fine artist.<br /><br />I have voiced my opinion many times when the discussion turns to learning to be an artist at the college level and told quite a few young young men and women that are thinking of college or university for their art education, to stop and think about what they really want to accomplish there. When they say they want to learn to draw or paint like Michelangelo or Rembrandt or Titian, I tell them college or university art programs aren't going to teach them that. They will get more of that type of education at a five day workshop at the Scottsdale Artists School than they will in four years at any college or university art program.<br /><br />Now, if their aim is to become the kind of artist that can toss a pile of old shoes on the floor and come up with an incredibly ridiculous explanation about how it shows the pure hopelessness of the universe, then the college or university route should be right up their alley.dglenncaseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04068290453895321093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-1700966569745918612018-12-14T21:14:00.412-05:002018-12-14T21:14:00.412-05:00The very first time I sat in a contemporary art hi...The very first time I sat in a contemporary art history class, the instructor projected some rather beautiful paintings of dinosaurs and declared "This is kitsch, we will not be discussing kitsch."<br /><br />Since the dinotopia books got me into art and illustration in the first place, this crossed a line for me. Honestly, I couldn't take it very seriously after that.<br /><br />I would not recommend art school to anyone. Maybe a private, largely technical school or community college. Get your "creative thinking" from a range of science, history, anthropology, type courses. Art school is still stuck in postmodernism.slategreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07690646483113294858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-69586469650027680352018-12-14T19:21:15.105-05:002018-12-14T19:21:15.105-05:00I am a little of the old school favoring teaching ...I am a little of the old school favoring teaching fundamentals and of the new school where thinking and conceptualizing is very important, especially at the university/art school level. Perhaps it's more of a when these skills should be taught, being the observance of something and the hand/eye skill required to replicate what is really seen. The portrayal of what you really see most often has to be taught, preferably at an early stage. An example of this is when I was helping my grandson with geometry (grade 5). I explained how I used my "mind's eye" to look at one triangle to compare it to another to determine whether it was the same. That so very useful little point got him through geometry. <br /><br />If the skill to write is taught at an early age, why isn't the skill to draw also taught then? I've been doing some research into the health benefits of drawing for all ages. Drawing is very beneficial to developing and growing the brain. <br /><br />My premise is that art school or universities should only build on the K-12 instruction in art. The problem lies in getting the schools to teach it at a time when the "absorber" is more of a sponge than the blocker who is a teenager-know-it-all. Teach the visual observation and hand-eye coordination where it will do the most good. <br /><br />As an aside, I have known kids who were home-schooled, learning the year's work in 3 months AND remembering it for the next class year. Why are we holding kids back from learning skills that will benefit them all their lives?<br /><br />Peevedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17445711848959152522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-88757913482583140342018-12-14T17:42:27.027-05:002018-12-14T17:42:27.027-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17468579181832639821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-81431308760943340012018-12-14T17:36:56.902-05:002018-12-14T17:36:56.902-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17468579181832639821noreply@blogger.com